Damascus road workers retained

The Damascus Township Board of Supervisors on February 18 voted unanimously to extend the employment of two township road workers who were appointed last month as foremen for 30 days. Supervisor chairman Jeffrey R. Dexter was absent from the meeting.

“We’re going to let it run another month to see how it works out,” supervisor Charles Grady said, following a five-minute executive session.

Fellow supervisor Joseph Canfield agreed, saying 30 days was not enough time to assess the performance of the employees, Marvin Freiermuth and John Moss. The two were previously regular road workers, but their pay, $16.33 per hour, has not changed since they’ve become foremen, said treasurer Dolores Card.

Grady had previously resigned from his position as roadmaster but has remained a member of the road crew. In Pennsylvania, a supervisor can also be a municipality’s roadmaster. When asked after the February meeting why he had resigned, Grady said, “That’s something I don’t want to get into.”

In other news, Ed Lagarenne, Damascus webmaster, reported that the number of hits to the township website has reached 59,000. The site was established in 2001. Lagarenne said the site has been getting 400 to 600 views a month, some from quite a distance.

“We’ve been getting some from Syria,” Lagarenne said, laughing. But most of the hits, he said, are local or from the tri-state area. “So that’s pretty good,” he said.

The supervisors said the inclement conditions—such as mud and snow—on Holgate and Dillmuth roads are being looked into. “That issue will hopefully be resolved,” said Canfield.